116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Iowa County man charged in fatal Linn County crash
The pickup truck driver said his vehicle could ‘easily win’ against the red Mercedes-Benz, so he passed the car even though there was oncoming traffic
Jul. 21, 2025 2:50 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
An Iowa County man has been arrested in a relation to a May crash in Linn County that resulted in the death of another man.
Terry Wertz, 66, of Parnell, Iowa, is charged with homicide by vehicle/reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident in relation to the death of William Leroy Tomson, 70, of La Vista, Nebraska on May 27.
According to a criminal complaint, Wertz was driving a black Ford F-150 pickup south on 80th Street SW, just outside Fairfax, when he attempted to pass Tomson, who was driving a red Mercedes-Benz LK5. The street is a two-lane highway, and they were in a no-passing zone. There were two vehicles coming toward them from the opposite direction when Wertz attempted to pass, and Tomson had to swerve off the road to avoid being hit by Wertz’s truck when Wertz entered back into the southbound lane.
Tomson drove into the west ditch of the road and hit a farm embankment driveway, causing his car to flip over its front end and land upside down. Tomson was thrown from the vehicle as it flipped and he landed underneath it. When law enforcement responded to the scene they found him under the car with sustained crush injuries to his jaw, skull and chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy determined he died as a result of his injuries in the crash, the release states.
Wertz continued driving south after the crash, not stopping to render aid or leave any information. Law enforcement later made contact with him at his residence in Parnell and stated that he had been trying to pass Tomson and saw the cars coming in the opposite lane but said, “I was driving a pickup and he was driving that little red car. Well, the pickup will easily win, so I went ahead of him,” the complaint states.
A warrant was issued for Wertz’s arrest on July 17, and he was taken into custody on Sunday. He had his hearing for initial appearance Monday morning and is being held in the Linn County Jail on a $35,000 bond.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters